Signaling mechanism



Oct. 25, 1932. G. E. KING SIGNALING MECHANISM Filed May 29, 1929INVENTOR George E. King ATTORNEY in the Patented Oct. 25, 1932 GEORGEERNEST KING, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS,

PATENT OFFICE ASSIGNOR TO THE GAMEWELL COMPANY, OF NEWTON UPPER FALLS,MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAS- SACHUSETTS SIGNALING MECHANISMApplication filed May 29, 1929. Serial No. 367,017.

This invention relates to signaling mechanism, and more particularly tothe so-called key break mechanism Wh-ereby'code signals are formulatedin signaling circuits, a-sfor example-An the commonly used types ofmunicipal fire alarm boxes.

A very large proportion of the municipal fire alarm boxes now in usehave clockwork mechanism of types .such as that shown oatent to F. lV.Cole, No. 1,244,587, issued (Bctober th, 1917, and in Fig. 1 of thedrawing of patent to J. W. Johnson, No. 621,093, issued March 14th,1899.

The key break levers of such mechanisms are adapted, withoutmodification, to cooperate with signal wheels representing widelyvarying signal numbers; and such mechanisms are arranged to act veryquickly in breaking the'circuits controlled thereby, such action beingfrequently termed instantaneous break. On the other hand, such key breakmechanisms act at a comparatively slow rate to close the circuit,especially when the signal is. being formulated for so-called slow timesystems, such as are usually provided when the responsive instrumentsinclude whistle blowing machines and tower bell strikers.

The slowness of closing action just referred to arises from the factthat the key break levers are raised by the slanting faces of the teethof the associated signal wheels to eifect closing of the key breakcontacts; the movement of the signal wheel being, in

turn, governed by a pallet and escape wheel,

as is well understood in this art. Because of the use of such palletgovernors, the movementof such signal wheels is intermittent incharacter, and thereis more or less reverse movement of the signal wheelfollowing each step of forward movement thereof, resultant from thebacking up of the escape wheel caused by the momentum of the pallet andits pendulum the various teeth of the Wheel engage first with one andthenthe other of the faces of the pallet. When adjusted for signals inwhich the strokes within numerals are separated by time intervals of sayE $3 to 3 seconds, extra heavy pendulums are used, and the backing upaction is particularly pronounced, so that it is found to be difficultto adjust the parts in a manner which will surely avoid the formulationof false signaling strokes in the signaling circuit. As is bestunderstood by those who have had occasion to assemble and adjust suchmechanisms, these false strokes result from unintended breaks in thesignaling circuit which occur (due to the pendulum actin through thepallet and escape wheel as just described) when the signal wheel turnsbackward far enough for the key break lever to permit the contacts toseparate, following closure of these contacts resultant from theimmediately preceding forward rotation of the signal wheel.

In patent to H. W. Doughty et al., No. 949,699, dated February 15th,1910, and patout to C. E. Beach, No. 1,078,984, dated November 18th,1913, arrangements are'shown whereby quick closure as well as quickbreak of signaling contacts may be obtained (such as will be hereinafterreferred to as instan taneous make and break) but the arrangements ofboth of these patents involve the use of types of signal wheels andarrangements of signaling contacts incapable of readyinterchange withthose of more than a very small proportion of the municipal fire alarmboxes now in use.

It is important that interchangeability of signal wheels be maintained,so far as otherwisepracticable, between the various boxes of givenmunicipal fire alarm systems, for reasons well understood by those incharge of such systems; an important one of such reasons being that whenany box of such a system is disabled (as when struck by a streetvehicle) it is customary to install a reserve box in place of suchdisabled box orif no reserve box is then availableto temporarilytransfer a boXfrom some location considered less hazardous, untilpermanent replacement or repair can be made. In either event, thereplacement box should be arranged to transmit the same code signalnumber as the one which it is to replace, so that the fire departmentcan be summoned to the desired location without danger of confusion suchas would result from assignment or transfer thereto of a new ordifferent number. To this end, it is customary to, if possible, applythe code signal wheel of the disabled box to that used for itsreplacement. Obviously, this can be done only if a given type of wheelcan be interchangeably applied. to both of the boxes concerned. As thetypes of instantaneous make and break mechanisms heretofore known arenot suited for interchangeable use therewith of the code wheels of thetypes of boxesin' most general use, that fact has militated against thegeneral adoption of such prior art instantaneous make key breakmechanisms.

The mechanisms of municipal fire alarm boxes. of the so-called perfectnon-interfer ence and succession types in most general use, provide aninterlocking relationship be? tween what is known as thenon-interference armature and the'key break lever so that, as more fullyexplained in the aforesaid Cole Johnson patents, the non-interferencearmature willbe mechanically held against retractive movement at alltimes when the key break lever is positioned for opening the. signalingcircuit, andmoveme ntof the key breaklever to the closed circuitposition will release such armature, which will thereupon move to aposition where it prevents subsequent act on of suchlever to break thesignaling circuit unless then prevented by energization of thenon-interference magnet. In practice it has been found to be essential,

when using ordinary types of electromagnets, that the signalingcontacts. shall be closed for an appreciable time before retraction ofthe non-interference armature is permitted by the key break lever, inorder to assure thatu nder-the most adverse condi tionsfthere will beopportunity forthe noninterference magnet to become effectivelyenergized before its armature is mechanically released by the key breaklever, To this end,

, it is customary to so fit the parts'that, during the movement of thekey break lever toward closed circuit position, there will be an elapseof time, measured by several beats of the escapement pallet, betweenthepoint in the movement of the key break lever at which the contacts firstreach closed condition and that at which the armature is released. Priorart instantaneous make? key break mechanisms do not afford facilitiesfor readily assuring such an interval between circuit closure andarmature release other than through theme of a type of signal wheelwhich is inconvenient and expensive to produce, which requires specialfitting of the keybreak mechanism, and which does not provide forinterchangeability of signal wheels, which vary beyond an extremelylimited range of diversity in signal numhere. These facts have furthermilitated against the general adoption of such prior break lever byteeth of the signal wheel, at

times when the clock work'movement is at rest, for reasons wellunderstood by those skilled in this art. Obviously, the closing of thekey break contacts which results from the engagement by such pins of theextension of the key break lever projecting in the path thereof, is evenslower than that which results from the action of the signal wheel uponthe key break lever, so that a point is reached during the closure ofthecontacts at which the separation therebetween is and remains, for anappreciable time, very minute in extent, so, that vibration, of thecontacts (such as is likely to result from the jarring whicha membermoving with the armature is i arranged in interlocking relationship withthe key break lever, the signaling contacts will assuredly be closedthroughout an inter val of suitable duration, prior to such move ment.of the key break lever as will unlock the non-interference armature,

It is a further object of this invention to provide such key breakmechanismof a type operable by code signal wheels of the types now inmost generaluse in fire alarm boxes to act instantaneously in effectingclosure as Well as opening of the key break contacts.

It is a'further object of this invention to provide a type of such keybreak mechanism which can be produced in forms capable of readyapplication to. existing forms of municipal fire alarm boxes, without,necessitating the replacement of either the code signal wheels or thesignaling contacts of; such boxes, s

It is a further object to provide a type of such keybreakmechanism-which, when employed in municipal fire alarm. boxes of thetypes now in most general use, will, without alterations orreadjustments, cooperate with code signal wheels representing awidediversity of signal numbers.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide such aninstantaneous make and break mechanism? which is more simple, re-

liable, durable and economical of manufacture than those heretoforeused.

With the aforesaid objects in view, this invention consists of the novelcombinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described inpreferred embodiments, pointed out in the subjoined claims, andillustrated in the annexed drawing, wherein corresponding parts aredesignated by similar reference characters throughout the several Views,of which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation of a fire alarm box of the generaltype illustrated in the Johnson patent hereinbefore referred to,embodying a form of key break mechanism cons noted in accordance withthis invention, the parts being shown in normal position;

Fig. 2 shows certain of the parts of Fig. 1 in the positions assumedthereby just after a tooth of the signal wheel has permitted the keybreak mechanism to act to effect separation of the contacts;

Fig. 3 shows the parts of Fig. 2 in the positions assumed when the keybreak lever has been partially restored to raised position by a tooth ofthe signal wheel;

t shows the parts of Fig. 3 as positioned when the key break lever hasbeen restored to a position beyond that shown by Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of certain of the parts of the preceding figures;

Fig. 6 shows a simplified arrangement of key break mechanismcorresponding to that of Figs. 2, 3 and l; and

Fig. 7 is an elevation of mechanism similar to that of Figs. 1 to 5, andsuited for application to tire alarm boxes of the general type indicatedby the Cole Patent No. 1,244,587, hereinbefore referred to.

Referring to Fig. 1, the main gear 21, carried by the shaft 23, actsthrough the usual gearing to drive the signal wheel shaft 25 and throughitthe escapement shaft 27 which carries the escape wheel 29. In theinterests of clearness of illustration, certain parts of such gearingare omitted from the accompanying drawing and are not herein describedin detail it being considered sufficient to state that the code signalwheel 31 is fixed upon the shaft 25, so that, when said shaft is drivenby the main gear 21, the periphery speed of said wheel will be suitablyregulated by the governor mechanism comprising the pallet 83 and theescape wheel 29, in the usual manner.

The key break lever i1 is journaled on the pivot 4.2, and carries aprojection 43 for cooperation with the teeth of the code signal wheel 31in a well known manner. The free end 44.- of the lever 41 is arrangedfor cooperation with the pin 45 for a purpose which will be presentlyexplained in greater detail.

A lever 46, carrying the pin 45 and pivoted its shaft 47 in suchdirection as to move such 7 armature as may be carried by said leveraway from its associated magnet, and such spring will therefore, forconvenience, be hereinafter referred to as the armature retractilespring.

The signaling contacts 51 and 52 are positioned relative to the codesignal wheel 31, key break lever pivot 42 and o her parts of themechanism, in a relationship corresponding to that occupied by the codsignaling contacts and similar prior art form of key break mechanismparts of fire alarm boxes of the general type herein indicated and shownin greater detail by the Johnson patent hereinbefore referred to.

A pin 22 is carried by the main 21 to engage the lug 24 (see Fig. 5)carried by the free end of the tail 26 of the lever 41, for positioningsaid lever to effect closure of the contacts 51 and 52 when the gear 21is in normal. position; as is usual practice i' alarm boxes in thegenera type indicated.

The arm 53 is journaled on the pivot 4.2 by the side of the lever 41,for movement indepcndently thereof, adjacent surfaces of said arm andlever being spaced apart, as best shown in Fig. 5, for receiving aspring 55.

The lever 41 carries a pin 57 which of;- tends in the direction of thearm 53, and said arm carries a corresponding pin 58 which is so situatedwith relation to the pin 5. as to suitably limit clockwise movement ofthe arm 53 relative to the lever il, as hereinafter more fullyexplained. The spring 55 is of suiiicient tension for actuating thecontacts 51 and 52, as hereinafter more fully explained, and is soapplied between the lever 41 and the arm that one end of said spring soengages the pin 57 as to tend to rotate the lever tlin acounter'clockwise direction, and the other end of said spring so the pin58 as to tend to rotate said arm in a clockwise direction relatively tosaid lever.

An insulating spacer 60, carried by the arm 53, is so positioned and ofsuch length that when any tooth of the signal wheel 31 is raising thelever 11, if the arm 53 moves with said lever (the pin 58 remaining inenga e ment with the pin 57) said spacer will effectclosnre of thecontacts 51 and 52 before the conclusion of the movement imparted tosaid lever by such tooth, for a reason which will e hereinafter morefully explained.

The latch 61 is'journaled'on thepivot 62, and carries the projection 63which is'positioned for engaging the free end of the arm 53 for delayingactuation of'the. contacts 51 and 52 during a portion of the upwardmovement of the lever 41. A spring 64 is so applied to said latch as tourge movement thereof in the direction of the arm 53, and the free endof said latch is so associated with a'pin 65, carried by the lever 41,that said latch will be so moved as to effect release of the arm 53whenever the lever 41 has been sufficiently raised to store the requiredenergy in the spring 55, and, furthermore, sufliciently to lift the pin57 far enough above the pin 58 so that, upon disengagement of said latch61 from said arm 53, the latter will effect closure of the contacts 51and 52in a substantially instantaneous manner; the functionalrelationship of said parts being further such that said latch 61 will bedisengaged from said arm 53, when the lever is being raised as by atooth of the signal wheel 31, before the free end 44 of said lever hasreached a position such as would permit the pin 45 to be swung by thelever 46 in response to the armature retractile spring 48; thisadjustment being preferably such that, during the operation of theclockwork train, several beats of the escapement pallet will be requiredto permitsuch movement of the signal wheel 31 as will lift the lever 41from the position at which the pin causes the latch 61 to release thearm 53 to the position where the end 44 of said lever 41 will permit thepin 45 to pass under said free end 44, when moving with the armaturelever 46 in response to the armature retractile spring 48.

In adjusting key break mechanism, such as that just described, forcooperation with the mechanism of a so-called perfect noninterferenceand succession box mechanism, of the general type indicated by Figs. .1to 5 of the drawing, the various parts should be so proportioned andrelatively situated that the number of beats of the escapement pallet 33necessary to permit movement of the signal wheel 31 from the positionwhere any tooth thereof has raised the key break lever 41 to a positionwhich effects closure of'the contacts 51 and 52 and the position of saidwheel where said lever 41 is raised high enough to withdraw the free end44 thereof from the path of the pin 45, will be such as will occupy aninterval of t me of such duration as to assure enective energization ofsuch non-interference magnet as may be employed, with a suitable factorof safety.

The operation of the embodiment of this invention which is indicated byFigs. 1 to 5, is as follows:

\Vhen the parts are in normal condition, they are positioned asindicated by Fig. 1, the pin 22 engaging the lug and thereby actingthrough the. tail 2.6 to support: the lever 41 in therefore been moved,by the spring 55, to a position where the spacer maintains the contact51 in engagement with the contact 52. Furthermore, the free end 44 ofthe lever 41 is withdrawn from the path of the pin 45. so

as to permit said pin to be swung below said end by movement of thenon-interference armature lever 46 in response to its retractile spring48, unless such movement is otherwise restrained. In firealarm boxes ofthe generalgtype indicated, the non-interference armature lever is held,while the train is at rest, by mechanical cooperation between said leverand the clockwork, or otherwise, as well understood by those skilled inthe art.

f, now, the clockwork is set in vmotion, the pin 22 will be slowlycarried, by the main wheel 21, out of the path of the tail 26, the formand relative positioning of parts being such that disengagement betweensaid pin and tail will be thus effected when the first teeth of thesignal number of the code signal wheel 31 has moved into the path of theprojection 43, so that said tooth will temporarily continue to supportthe lever 41 after the pin 22 has been withdrawn from the path of thelug 24; whereupon, further rotation of the code wheel will withdraw thefirst tooth of the signal number thereof from the path of saidprojection 43.

If, up to this point in the operation of the mechanism, the armaturelever 46 has been held against movement in response to the retractilespring 48 (as it will have been by continued energization of thenon-interference magnet, unless some other signal is then in course oftransmission) the hey break mechanism parts will move, with apractically instantaneous action, so as to be relatively positi oned asshown in Fig. 2; the projection 43 having dropped into the depressionbetween the first'an-d second teeth of the signal wheel 31, in responseto the thrust applied to said lever through the bias of contact spring51 acting through the insulating spacer 60,. the arm 53 and thespring55; said spring holding tl e pin 57 in engagement with the pin 58 duringsuch movement of the'arm 53 and lever 41, so that said arm and leverwill move as a unitary structure. The electrical connection between thesprings 51 ant 52 will thus be broken, and the free end 44 of said lever41 will be brought into the path of the pin 45, thus preventingretractile movement of the lever 46 in response to the spring 48 upondeenergization of the nonsinterference magnet, as should result frominterruption of the current path therethrough upon separation of thecontact 51 from the contact 52. Such downward movement of the lever 41,will also carry'the pin to a position which permits the latch 61 tomove, in response to its spring 64, and where the projection 63 will bedisposed in the path of the free end of the arm 53, for the purpose ofdelaying actuation of the contact during subsequent raising of the lever4.1 by the next tooth of the signal wheel.

In the course of succeeding rotation of the signal wheel 31, the nexttooth thereof will engage the projection 43 and thereby lift the lever41, but the pin 57 will move upwardly away from the pin 58 and the arm53 will not accompany the lever 41 during such movement, because theupward movement of said arm will be temporarily restrained by the latch61; the-relative position of said parts during such upward movementbeing indicated in Fig. 3.

When the rotation of the signal wheel 31 has proceeded far enough sothat, through the lifting of the lever 41, suflicient energy has beenstored in the spring 55 to effect movement of the contact 51 intoengagement with the contact 52, and the pin 57 is far enough above thepin 58 so that, when the arm 53 is released, it will move upwardly to apoint which will effect closure of the signaling contacts, the pin 65,acting upon the slanting surface near the free end of the latch 61, willso move said latch as to withdraw the projection 63 from the path of thefree end of the arm 53, whereupon said arm will move, with asubstantially instantaneous action, to the position shown in Fig. 4,where the contact 51 engages the contact 52.

The operation of the parts described in response to subsequent movementof the lever 41, as various teeth of the signal wheel 31 alternatelyengage and are withdrawn from the path of the projection 43, will bemere repetitions of the action already described.

After the completion of the intended alarm, a pin 22 moving with themain gear 21 will engage the lug 24, at a time when the key break lever41 is in a depressed position (such as indicated in Fig. 2) at a timewhen the signal wheel 31 is so situated that the tooth thereof whichrepresents the last stroke of its signal number was the one mostrecently disengaged from the projection 43; whereupon the key breaklever 41 will be slowly elevated, but the arm 53 will be held againstacting to move the contact 51 into engagement with the contact 52 untilthe lever 41 has been sufficiently elevated to assure rapid andeffective closure of such contacts, whereupon the latch 61 will be swungso as to carry its projection 63 out of the path of the free end of thearm 53, and the contacts will thereupon be closed as previouslyexplained.

Referring next to the simplified arrangement of key break mechanismindicated by Fig. 6, it will be observed that certain parts here showndiffer from the corresponding parts of Figs. 1 to 5 in respects whichwill now be more fully explained.

The signaling contact 51 is biased for movement toward the signalingcontact 52, the key break lever 41 acts upon the contact 51 through theinsulating member 60 to move said contact away from the contact 52, thespring 40 being applied to the key break lever in such manner as to tendto so move it as to cause it to act as just described. The latch 61 isswung on the pivot 62 and has the spring 64 so applied to it as to tendto swing the free end of said lever toward the contact 51, an insulatingpin 66 being mounted in the free end of the latch 61' for at timesrestraining movement of the contact 51 in the direction of the contact52. A slanting wall 67 of a part moving with the key break lever 41 isso positioned with relation to the pin 66 that, as said key break leveris raised (as by theengagement of any tooth of the signal wheel 31 withthe projection 43 carried by said lever 41' the pin 66 will be so movedas to permit movement of the contact 51 in responseto its bias, towardthe contact 52, only when the lever 41 has been raised to a point wherethe member 60 is far enough above the contact 51 to permit said contactto move into engagement with the contact 52; whereupon, further rise ofthe lever 41' will cause the pin 66 to be swung out of the path of thecontact 51, and permit said contact to quickly move into closedrelationship with contact 52.

Inasmuch as the remaining parts shown by Fig. 6 are substantiallyidentical with those indicated in Figs. 1 to 5, and the furtheroperation of the mechanism there shown corresponds with thathereinbefore described in greater detail, the operation of thearrangement of Fig. 6 will not be further described.

Referring, finally, to the arrangement of key break mechanism indicatedby Fig. 7, it will be observed that the parts here shown correspond veryclosely with those indicated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5; the armaturelever 46 being of a form somewhat different from that of the armaturelever 46 of the preceding figures, so as to better illustrate thearrangement of parts which may be utilized in applying this invention tofire alarm boxes of the general type indicated by the Cole Patent No.1,244,587 hereinbefore referred to. The retractile spring 48, thenon-interference armature 49, and non-interference magnet 50 being shownin a relationship to said lever 46 corresponding to that of similarparts of the. box illustrated in the Cole patent. Inasmuch as thedescription of the parts of Fig. 7, and their operation, corresponds sonearly to that already given in detail relative to the precedingfigures, it is deemed unnecessary to repeat same at this point.

Guided by the illustrated embodiments int shown by the accompanyingdrawing and hereinbefore described in detail, those skilled in the artshould have no difliculty in applying this invention to other types offire alarm boxes.

, Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States of America, is:

1. A signal box having a toothed code signal wheel, non-interferencemechanism including a non-interference armature, and signaling contactmechanism involving a member resiliently biased to assume a positioncharacteristic of a predeterminedfunctional relationship, in combinationwith a member movable in one direction by respective ones of said teeth;resilient means acted upon for storage of energy therein by said secondmemher during movement thereof responsive to the teeth of said signalwheel, involving means including said second member for applying energystored in said resilient means for moving said first named memberagainst its bias; a latch cooperating with said first named member forat times restraining movement thereof, and means for withdrawing saidlatch to permit rapid actuation of said contacts during the latterportion of each cycle of such operation of said mechanism; and meanswhereby said armature will be locked against retractive movementthroughout those portions of the movement of said code signal wheel fromeach point where the resultant functional actuation of said contactscauses separation thereof to a point appreciably subsequent to that at'which reengagement of said contacts is next efleeted, whereby releaseof said armature to permit retractive movement thereof will not beeffected'until said wheel has rotated appreciably beyond each point atwhich closure of said contacts is effected.

2. Code signal formulating mechanism comprising,a toothed code signalwheel, a key break lever pivoted adjacent to said wheel for movement inone direction by the teeth thereof, electromagnetically controllednon-interference mechanism associated in interlocking relationship withsaid key break lever for release therefrom during and just prior totermination of movement vof said lever by any tooth of said wheel, anarm pivoted adjacent to and so inter-related with said lever as topermit movement of said lever by teeth of said code wheel withoutcorresponding movement of said arm and so as to limit movement of saidarm relatively to said lever in direction corresponding to levermovement imparted by signal wheel ment of said. lever, said latchinter-related with said lever to effect disengagement thereof from saidarm during that portion of the movement imparted to said lever by anytooth of said wheel which immediately but appreciably precedes that atwhich such release of non-interference mechanism is effected, and signalcontacts operable by said arm.

8. Code signal formulating mechanism comprising,a toothed code signalwheel, a key break lever pivoted adjacent to said wheel for. movement inone direction by the teeth thereof, electromagnetically controllednoninterference mechanism associated in interlocking relationship withsaid key break lever for release therefrom during and just prior totermination of movement of said lever by any tooth of said wheel,signaling contacts associated with said lever and hav ing tendencyimparted thereto to assume a certain predetermined relationship subjectto signal wheel-tooth imparted movement of said lever, and a latch forat times delaying movement of said contacts, said latch interrelatedwith said lever to etfect termination of its delaying influence upon themovement of said contacts during that portion of the movement impartedto said lever which immediately but appreciably precedes that at whichsuch release of non-interference mechanism is effected.

, In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name, this 27th day ofMay, 1929.

GEORGE E. KING.

teeth, resilient means urging movement of said arm corresponding to thewheel-tooth imparted movement of said lever, a latch b1ased for movementto a position for engaging said arm to restrain movement thereof duringsignal wheel-tooth imparted move-

